Mental Health Journal Prompts For Anxiety, Bad Days, and Gratitude

Journaling is a thoughtful and sometimes creative outlet that helps you process emotions, practice self-expression, and cultivate greater personal awareness. There are so many benefits to seeing handwritten words on paper and creating an opportunity for positive self-talk that it’s often assigned as homework in therapy sessions.

While a journal or an AI chatbot is not a replacement for a provider or a therapist, mental health journaling prompts can help you get started with a new and healthy daily habit.

How Can Journaling Support Mental Health?

Journaling is a practice that can help you increase self-awareness and process or manage emotions. It can also help reduce stress and improve overall mental health. Writing your way through a challenge helps you see it from a new perspective and forces you to be unwaveringly honest with yourself.

It’s an outlet for self-reflection and self-discovery. It’s a daily discipline that doubles as self-care and wellness. As you process your thoughts on paper, reality becomes clearer, helping you calm anxiety and cultivate gratitude, fostering a more positive outlook on life. The more clearly and positively you can see the world, the more stable and equipped you will be to address internal and external challenges.

The science supports the positive outcomes of journaling, and countless studies have shown its benefits for mental health and overall well-being. One study showed that participants experienced a 5% reduction in patient scores (decrease in symptom severity) with 9% reduction for anxiety, 6% reduction for PTSD, and 2% reduction for depression.[1]

Another study compared patients who were prescribed journaling as part of their care with those who were not. Patients in the journaling group experienced reduced mental distress, less anxiety, reduced stress, greater resilience, and better social integration.[2]

This study confirmed journaling (specifically Positive Affect Journaling or PAJ) as a beneficial intervention for managing mental distress, anxiety, and other symptoms. That same study goes on to report that these benefits of PAJ were observed after only 1 month and were maintained over time throughout the 12-week study.

Expressive writing is another type of journaling often prescribed as a coping mechanism in the mental health space. A study on this intervention revealed that participants in the expressive and positive writing group showed significantly lower scores on the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) than the control writing group.[3]

Fewer anxiety, PTSD, and depression symptoms. Lower severity scores. Greater resilience and reduced stress. These benefits all have a positive impact on your mental health and well-being, improving your quality of life.

What About Gratitude Journaling?

Gratitude journaling is another form of emotional expression common in journaling practice. By expressing gratitude, you can positively reframe your daily life and circumstances, and see difficult times from a new perspective, ultimately improving emotional well-being.

One study on gratitude journaling compared to expressive writing and a control group revealed that the gratitude participants had the best results. Their gratitude levels increased, while their stress decreased after the one-month evaluation.[4] This suggests that gratitude writing may be a better resource for dealing with stress and negative affects than even traditional expressive writing methods, depending on the individual’s circumstances.

Additional Benefits of Journaling

• Better Social Integration: Social isolation is a known early risk factor for early mortality. Studies indicate that if you can improve your perception the social environment through journaling, you can improve social integration.[5] With greater integration comes greater support and a healthier social life.
• Better Sleep: Gratitude is uniquely linked to sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, and daytime dysfunction. The results of one study show that pre-sleep gratitude journaling can improve sleep quality and how easily one falls asleep, as grateful people are less likely to ruminate on negative thoughts and worries, focusing instead on positive things.[6]
• Better Cardiac Health: Another study revealed a link between expressive writing and cardiac health, showing lower heart rates (HR) and higher heart rate variability (HRV) (due to better stress resilience).[7]

21 Mental Health Journal Prompts

Grab a bullet journal, lined paper, or a digital journal and give yourself a few minutes to explore your inner world. Practice self-compassion; there are no wrong answers, only opportunities for a deeper understanding of yourself, where you’ve been, and where you want to go.

Mental Health Journal Prompts For Anxiety

• If you were helping someone else with the same anxious thoughts you’re having, what would you tell them?
• What triggers anxious feelings the most?
• Are the worries you face based on something you CAN control or something you CANNOT control?
• How have you overcome this or a similar situation in the past?
• What is one thing you can do to ease your anxious feelings?
• Catalog your physical sensations when anxious. Relax your body as you write.
• What is one thing you can do right now to focus on the present moment?

Mental Health Journal Prompts For Bad Days

• What’s something you wish you could have done differently today?
• Is this something you CAN control or something you CANNOT control?
• What do you need to let go of?
• What is something you really need to hear right now? Write it down.
• How can you make time for self-care in the midst of challenging circumstances?
• What intention do you want to set for tomorrow?
• Who can you call on for help in your circle? Write down three names and commit to reaching out.

Mental Health Journal Prompts For Gratitude

• List five things you’re grateful for and why. (Include people!)
• What is one small thing you take for granted? Express gratitude for it.
• Name something about yourself that you’re grateful for.
• Recall something or someone that recently brought you joy.
• Name something negative you THOUGHT was going to happen, but it didn’t. Express gratitude for what you did not have to go through.
• What is a success from the past that you’re grateful for?
• Describe a dream or a goal you’re excited about. (Take one small step on it today!)

Tips For How To Implement Mental Health Journaling Into Your Routine

• Keep your journaling supplies where you can easily access them and will use them.
• Try to journal at the same time each day.
• Set reminders on your phone or other device to keep you on track.
• Start small and don’t try to write several pages on day one.
• Find a quiet space where you won’t be distracted.
• Don’t have your phone with you when journaling, if possible.
• Try handwritten journaling, but if you find that digital journaling works better, do that.
• Find an accountability buddy; someone who will go on the journey with you.
• Regularly and honestly reflect on how it’s going and make any necessary adjustments.

Combine Your Journaling With Real Life Support

Journaling isn’t a cure for mental health conditions, but it is a beneficial coping strategy for many of the symptoms associated with anxiety, stress, PTSD, and more. For comprehensive solutions and personalized support, reach out to a mental health provider to learn about the treatment options available.